Hello Bev, I'm in South Yorkshire ...its good to see another member of the forum from the UK! I don't know of any quilting groups around where I live either but I have joined a sewing group where a couple of ladies like to quilt! The trouble is that I dont like hand quilting so I usually stick to my embroidery! (I'm learning to do stumpwork embroidery at the moment)
I suggest that you try to find a local sewing group to start with...I'm sure that you'll find a couple of quilters amongst the members!
Good luck
Karen xx